


i should be complaining but im not (much)

by headwonk



Series: Miss Hardbroom [2]
Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017), The Worst Witch - All Media Types
Genre: Arguing, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Minor Canonical Character(s), Mischief, Mutual Pining, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2020-03-20 06:21:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18987022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/headwonk/pseuds/headwonk
Summary: "Miss Cackle," Miss Hardbroom announced, her gaze angry and accusing, "please tell me this isn't a... friendship trap." The words were spat with such venom, Ada feared her deupty had swallowed something horrible."I'm sorry, but it is indeed a friendship trap, Hecate," Ada admitted. "You two have been bickering almost non-stop ever since you rekindled your friendship and I think it's high time someone did something about it.""But, Ada, a friendship trap?" Miss Hardbroom demanded, looking like she might actually cry out of anger. "What if we can't get out of it?""I'm positive you will," Ada reassured the flustered woman, "it's just a matter of how long it wil take. Let's hope you can put Ethel Hallow and Mildred Hubble to shame, eh?"-Because I refuse to believe that Hecate and Pippa had things easy after they made up, and this is my own friendship trap fic-





	i should be complaining but im not (much)

It seems that ever since Miss Pentangle and Miss Hardbroom rekindled their friendship, they've done nothing more than argue. Over even the simplest of things like how to mark a paper without crushing a young witches self esteem (though Ada did see Miss Pentangle's point), or whether one should be flying out in windy conditions, or even on the amount of donuts a witch should eat. Well, that being said, Ada has had enough of the constant bickering from her deputy and her friend.

Turning over the page of an important document she needed to sign, Ada absently reached for her cup of tea and took a satisfied slurp. A smile crossed her face as she signed her name at the bottom of the document.

After putting her cup down and neatening up the papers, Ada used a bit of magic to summon her stapler and stapled the papers together. 

"Yes, but that's not the point, Hiccup!" A rather loud voice floated in through Ada's door. "You're not listening to me!"

"I don't need to listen to you, Miss Pentangle, your idea is completely ridiculous," Hecate's clipped voice joined the other.

A heavy sigh escaped Ada and she rubbed her forehead. She had been hoping that during Miss Pentangle's current visit, the two might put their differences aside for a single evening so she could get on with her work. But it seems the duo had different ideas.

Before the voices could fade away as the arguing pair passed her office, Ada stood up and transferred right outside her door in time to see the pink and black clad witches reach the corner down the corridor.

"Miss Hardbroom, Miss Pentangle?" Ada called out, stopping whatever comment Hecate had been ready to say in her own defence.

The women paused and turned to face Ada, Miss Pentangle looking a lot more apologetic and guilty than Miss Hardbroom.

"I'm terribly sorry, Miss Cackle, we didn't mean to di-" Miss Pentangle tried, looking and sounding a lot like one of the girls.

"Now, now, Miss Pentangle," Ada interrupted her apology, "I merely wished to have a word with you two."

Both Miss Pentagle and Miss Harbroom shared a beffuddled look as Ada opened her office door and held out an arm as intruction for them both to enter. 

The pair traipsed into Ada's office and made their way over to the desk where they stopped and awkwardly stood with an unnecassarily large space between them. With another sigh, Ada shut the door and joined them, not bothering to take the seat at her desk.

For a moment, Ada stayed quiet, merely observing the pair as they tried their hardest to avoid her gaze. An idea reared its head in Ada's mind and she determinedly pushed down the smile trying to force itself onto her face.

"Now, what is it you two were arguing about this time?" Ada questioned, making sure to give them a pointed look when she said "this time."

A petulant glare was shot at Miss Hardbroom by Miss Pentangle as the pink-clad witch started to explain.

"I'd just had a rather  _brilliant_ ," another glare, "idea for Pentangle's, but Hecate here refused to even hear me out when I mentioned it to her."

"Is this true, Hecate?" Ada asked, placing a hand on the woman's back, not missing the look from Miss Pentangle.

"It's a completely absurd idea, Ada, I'm sure even Mildred Hubble has had some better ideas," Miss Hardbroom sniffed.

Miss Pentangle's mouth fell open and it took a second for her to close it and regain her composure.

"Well, if that's how you feel, Hecate," Miss Pentangle frowned, looking heartbroken, for lack of better word.

"Miss Pentangle," Ada said kindly before the woman could cast a transference spell. Taking this as her opportunity, Ada placed her other hand on Miss Pentangle's back, pleased when she felt her relax slightly.

"I think this argument is rather silly, don't you?" Ada admitted, trying to gauge their reactions. Miss Hardbroom looked away for a moment before returning her sights to Ada, the only sign she begrudgingly agreed. Miss Pentangle simply nodded minutely. "Good, now we all know you both agree to disagree on many things so why don't we just put this all behind us and get along?"

"I suppose that would be... acceptable," Miss Hardbroom drawled, though Ada was positive it was exactly what she wanted.

Miss Pentangle nodded with a small smile, "I agree. And I'm sorry for what I said, Hi-Hecate."

"As am I," Miss Hardbroom said, her eyes momentarily flicking to Miss Pentangle. 

"Good! That's wonderful. Now that that's sorted, I hope you two don't mind, but I do have quite a bit of paperwork to get through," Ada said with a sheepish smile as she removed her hands from Miss Hardbroom's and Miss Pentangle's backs, skillfully avoiding looking at the golden handprints on their backs that vanished almost immediately.

"Of course. We're terribly sorry to have disturbed you, Miss Cackle," Miss Pentangle apologised with a frown.

"Oh, no worries, ladies, just see that it doesn't happen again," Miss Cackle chastised lightly, easing the obvious tension in the pair in front of her. "Now, you'd best be off. I shan't keep you."

Miss Pentangle and Miss Hardbroom both nodded and with a flick of the latter's wrist and a quick smile from her deputy, the duo vanished in a whirl of pink and black smoke. Ada shook her head with a light chuckle, knowing it was only a matter of time before the pair found themselves in another argument.

* * *

As Ada had predicted, the pair of witches soom found themselves involved in yet another argument. This time, it happened to be whe Miss Pentangle was leaving Cackle's to return to her own school lest she stay away for too long. 

Miss Pentangle had been saying her goodbyes to both staff and student, and when she came around to Miss Hardbroom, the deputy had muttered something to Miss Pentangle which spurred the argument which initiated the trap.

"Well then, perhaps I won't find myself returning to Cackle's at all. I'm sure you'd like that wouldn't you, Miss Hardbroom," Miss Pentangle challenged, though it was obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes how upset she was.

In a sudden flurry of moment, before Miss Hardbroom could open her mouth to respond, the two witches were pulled towards each other by some unseen force. Miss Pentangle let out an undignified squeak, her cheeks flushing red, whilst Miss Hardbroom merely gasped with wide eyes and steadied herself on the wall. There were more surprised gasps throughout the audience of students and staff.

Slightly, Miss Drill turned to Ada. 

"Is this..." she left the question hanging knowing Ada knew what she meant.

"It is, indeed, and it seems they've fallen straight into it head first."

"Miss Cackle," Miss Hardbroom announced, her gaze angry and accusing, "please tell me this isn't a... friendship trap." The words were spat with such venom, Ada feared her deupty had swallowed something horrible.

"I'm sorry, but it is indeed a friendship trap, Hecate," Ada admitted. "You two have been bickering almost non-stop ever since you rekindled your friendship and I think it's high time someone did something about it."

"But, Ada, a friendship trap?" Miss Hardbroom demanded, looking like she might actually cry out of anger. "What if we can't get out of it?"

"I'm positive you will," Ada reassured the flustered woman, "it's just a matter of how long it wil take. Let's hope you can put Ethel Hallow and Mildred Hubble to shame, eh?"

"But-" Miss Pentangle started, coming out of her initial shock.

"Now, if that's all, I believe lessons are due to start soon," Ada interrupted and vanished into thin air, leaving behind a bemused Miss Drill and several students, and two shocked witches stuck in a friendship trap.

* * *

"This is all your fault, Hecate," Pippa muttered to Hecate as they attempted to set up the latter's potions lab for the next lesson. They'd mirror called Pentagle's to inform Pippa's deputy that they were unsure of when Pippa would be returning due to unfortunate circumstances.

"I'm not sure you're aware how friendship traps work, Pippa, but they work both ways. The fault is both of ours," Hecate responded just as bitterly, dragging Pippa across the lab as she laid out a few ingredients.

"Will you stop dragging me about?" Pippa said instead of further blaming Hecate, knowing she was right.

"I need to set up the potions lab, Pippa. You could just as easily work with me and make this easier for us both," Hecate ground out, petulantly placing a bat wing on one of the desks.

A scoff ecaped Pippa, but knowing it would do no good to continue arguing, she stayed quiet and willingly rounded the classroom with Hecate to set up the lesson.

Eventually (after a lot of effort on both parties), the potions lab was suitable enough for the next lesson and Miss Hardbroom was forced to swallow down her pride and open the classroom door for the students to file silently into the room. Many of the girls kept their heads down for fear of the punishment should they be caught staring at the teachers furing their predicament, whilst the rest of he girls did nothing but stare (which did nothing for Miss Hardbroom's sorely bruised ego).

The lesson dragged on with only a few minor incidents (such as both witches trying to go seperate directions when they forgot they were stuck together or Pippa sometimes taking over the role of teacher despite Hecate telling her that it wasn't her school). Finally,  _finally_ , the lesson drew to a close and the girls (smartly) left the classroom the same way they'd entered (without a word). 

Pippa let out a relieved sigh and (accidentally) dragged Hecate over to the desk where she plopped herself down into Hecate's seat, leaving the other woman to awkwardly stand beside her while Pippa rested her feet.

"I don't know how you do this everyday, Hiccup," Pippa admitted, drawing an eyebrow raise from Hecate. "You know, walking around the classroom the entire lesson just to be sure there's no accidents with the girls' potions."

"Yes," Hecate drawled, "but that doesn't stop a certain Mildred Hubble from blowing up her cauldron almost every lesson."

"I suppose not," Pippa agreed with a small smile, having seen first hand after her re-entry into Hecate's life exactly what Mildred was like with potions. 

Hecate absently tapped her fingers on the desk, suddenly avoiding Pippa's gaze.

"Lessons for the day are now over," she started slowly, gaining a nod from Pippa, "we should attend lunch, lest Ada think we are arguing again. Then..."

"Then what?" Pippa questioned softly at the pause.

"Then, I suppose, we should retire for the evening," Hecate finished almost lamely, still managing to avoid catching Pippa's eyes.

"Of course," Pippa agreed, getting up from her seat. "Now, about sleeping arangements..." 

A heavy blush coloured Hecate's cheeks and she smartly turned her face away from Pippa's, letting the bright witch talk for the both of them.

* * *

A frustrated sigh left Pippa's mouth as her arm was once again yanked by Hecate, who, beside her, was using her right arm (attached to Pippa's left) to eat her food. It wasn't that she wanted Hecate to stop moving her arm altogether (no, how would she eat otherwise?), it was just that she wasn't exactly being gentle about it when lifting it and Pippa need to cut her food.

"Hecate," Pippa finally whispered to her friend. 

"Yes?" Hecate responded, plastering on a less-than-innocent look. 

"I need to cut my food," Pippa stated, sending an unimpressed look at the woman next to her.

"Use your magic," Hecate said flatly with a raised eyebrow as if that was the easiest option in the world. (It wasn't, the residue magic would nake her food taste disgusting, and she told Hecate as such).

"So wait until I'm finished," Hecate told Pippa.

"It will be cold by then," Pippa sighed.

"I don't know what you want me to do then," Hecate snapped. 

"I want you to stop moving your arm so roughly!" Pippa snapped back, a little louder than necessary. On the other side of her, Algernon paused mid-bite and turned a little to give her a worried look. He shuffled a bit closer to Gwen who was sat on his other side, if only to be further away from the conflict brewing between Pippa and Hecate.

Hecate heaved a heavy sigh through her nose and placed her fork down on her plate with a sharp clatter. She gave a pointed look at Pippa, silently telling her to hurry up. Pippa gave her a grateful smile with a, "see, it wasn't that hard."

* * *

When dinner had finally finished after what was probably the hardest lunch Pippa had ever been privvy to, Hecate and Pippa transferred themselves straight to Hecate's rooms and treated themselves to a good half an hour on the couch if only to rest their feet (they deserved it, really, Pippa told herself).

With her arm connected to Hecate's and resting on the other woman's lap (not of her own will, though she wasn't complaining), Pippa forced herself to keep her breathing steady. This was the closest she'd been to Hecate since they were children and her heart seemed to want to escape the confines of her chest. 

She hadn't meant to constantly argue with Hecate (of course she hadn't), it was just her friend had been making it difficult to have a decent conversation ever since they made up and it was hard not to retaliate. Plus, Pippa could barely talk about modern magic without getting some spiteful comment from Hecate or an entire rant about traditional magic and the Code. It wasn't like she was breaking any of the rules, anyway.

"Are you all right?" Hecate questioned Pippa, stopping her train of thought. Pippa quickly looked up at her, debating on whether or not to tell the truth. "You've been rather quiet since I tranferred us to my rooms."

Looking down again, Pippa smoothed invisible creases out of her skirt.

"It's just," Pippa started, "well, I was simply wondering whether we would ever get out of this trap. What with the way we've been lately."

Hecate had the decency to look ashamed at the admission.

"I apologise for how I've been since..." Hecate paused for a moment, "it's just a bit of an adjustment having you suddenly back in my life and I suppose I don't really know how to handle it," she said whilst actively avoiding eye contact with Pippa.

A smile passed over Pippa's face in understanding and she used her free hand to put it over Hecate's upper arm in a sign of comfort.

"I understand, Hiccup," Pippa admitted, prompting Hecate to look up in surprise.

"You do?" She questioned.

"Of course I do," Pippa said, "if I'm being honest, I hadn't thought this entire thing would work at all. I'd expected you to shut me out altogether, that you wouldn't want anything to do with me at all."

"That's ridiculous," Hecate denied.

"Yes, but it's how I felt. We hadn't seen each other for thirty years and suddenly we'd been thrown back together by one meddling student. I suppose, when it comes down to it, though, I really am glad you didn't shut me out..." Pippa trailed off, unsure of what to say now.

"So am I," Hecate agreed quietly. 

The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence, sipping cups of tea that Hecate had summoned up for them both. By the time they had finished them, it was almost midnight. They were forced to put the tea set away and retreat to the bedroom where they (awkwardly) came to the realisation that they would have to share the bed. 

Pippa used her magic to change into a pair of comfortable white, silk pyjamas then manually took her hair down and brushed it so it fell calmly down over her shoulders.

Meanwhile, Hecate used her own magic to change from her dress to a pair of black, cotton pyjamas. Instead of doing it manually, she used magic to release her hair from its bun so it fell in almost-ringlets down her back.

When they were ready for bed, they slipped under the covers (putting a bit of room between them, much to Pippa's dismay) and Hecate snuffed out the candles using her magic. It took Pippa half an hour to fall asleep in such close proximity to Hecate.

* * *

The next morning, Hecate awoke at the crack of dawn, her internal clock screeching at her to get up and ready for the day.

It took her about a minute to realise that what she had thought was a dream was in fact reality. Looking to her right, she spotted a form dressed in white pyjamas, contrasting her burgundy blanket. Her heart almost stopped in her chest and her cheeks flushed red. She was glad Pippa wasn't awake to see it.

Gathering as much courage as she could muster, Hecate took a deep breath and shook Pippa in an attempt to wake her up. This only served to make Pippa snuggle deeper into the covers, prompting Hecate to sigh in annoyance. It may have looked cute (not that she'd admit it outloud), but she was on a tight schedule and had no time for games.

Flicking her left wrist, Hecate hovered her hand above Pippa and allowed her magic to stream out in her direction, followed by the sound of a very loud alarm clock. 

Pippa squealed in alarm (pun not intended) and covered her ears with her hands, which in turn pulled Hecate's right arm up. Cutting off the alarm, Hecate yanked her arm back away from Pippa and rose an eyebrow.

"What on Earth was that for, Hiccup?" Pippa demanded, rubbing her tired eyes. "It's only.." she looked at the clock on the mantle, "six am!"

"In case you have forgotten, Pippa, I happen to be a teacher," Hecate stated whilst getting out of bed and thus dragging Pippa with her. "I need to be up early to prepare for the day and do the rounds."

Pippa huffed, "fine, but was it really necessary to wake ne up like that?"

"Yes."

* * *

After doing her rounds and garnering many curious looks from the girls (and a laugh from Miss Drill who happened to pass them by), Hecate allowed Pippa to get some toast from Miss Tapioca before returning to the lab to set up for her first lesson of the day.

As Pippa crunched noisily at her jam on toast beside her (Hecate was sure she was doing it on purpose at this point), Hecate brought out some frog's legs and used her magic to set them out beside the cauldrons. Next came bat wings, then unicorn blood which had many healing properties.

"Have you always wanted to be a teacher, Hiccup?"

Hecate flinched, having been so absorbed in lesson planning she had forgotten Pippa was there, let alone stuck to her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Pippa apologised.

"It's alright," Hecate replied. "And no, I didn't always want to be a teacher. When we stopped being friends, I started having private lessons from Mistress Broomhead. She was ruthless, to say the least. She wanted me to work for the Council and after a while I suppose I started to want that, too.

"It was shortly after I had accepted a job offer from the Great Wizard himself that I met Miss Cackle. I was lost, really. And I guess Ada noticed that and offered me a job here at Cackle's as a potions mistress. I was reluctant at first, having never thought about teaching before, but I decided to give it a try. And here I am, nearly thirty years later. I enjoy teaching. It may not have been what I wanted at the time, but it's all I can see myself doing now."

Pippa put her free hand over Hecate's upper arm. 

"I didn't know you had tutoring from Mistress Broomhead," Pippa stated.

"It was a long time ago, now," Hecate brushed her off, sending the jar of bat wings back to the cupboard.

"Maybe. But I've heard some terrible things about that woman."

"Have you?" Hecate inquired nonchalantly, though inside her heart was pounding. She didn't want to talk about Mistress Broomhead to anyone, especially not Pippa after they'd only just become friends again.

"Yes. From witches who have also been under her tutelage," Pippa started. "I had a cousin who was tutored by her for a short while. She never recovered." 

"What do you mean?" Hecate whispered, but she knew exactly what Pippa meant. Truth is, she herself had never recovered after her time with Broomhead. The woman was vile and indulged in many different types of punishment for witches she saw as "not good enough". Hecate, thankfully, only bore a few physical scars from her punishments, but she'd seen girls with many, many more.

"I think you know, Hiccup," Pippa responded quietly. Instead of apologising or showing sympathy (which Hecate would have shrugged off with anger), Pippa hugged her as much as she could with their arms still fused together.

Hecate blinked back stubborn tears and used her free hand to wipe them away with her head rested on Pippa's shoulder.

As the pair embraced, they both failed to notice the small golden light that shone on their joined arms before fading away.

* * *

A week later and Hecate and Pippa were still stuck together. As irritible as it had been, the pair were doing their best to keep it together and cope with being with the other all hours of the day. 

Miss Cackle hadn't seemed the least big guilty when Hecate and Pippa had gone to speak to her about possibly removing the trap on the third day (though they both knew she didn't have the power to do so). Eventually, after trying countless attempts to remove the spell, the pair had given up after realising they were only making it worse.

They were unsure of what they would do about Pentangle's as it didn't seem like the trap would come off any time soon. Pippa's deputy, Miss Blossom, had been standing in for her ever since the trap had activated, but both witches knew that she could do so forever.

On the night of the seventh day since being stuck to one another, Pippa and Hecate found themselves playing a match of chess in Hecate's lounge. Hecate (unsurprisingly) looked to be winning. It wasn't because of lack of effort on Pippa's part, her mind just seemed to be elsewhere.

Noticing this, Hecate called a break and summoned the tea set over to them. 

Pippa graciously accepted a cup of tea made to her liking (three sugars and a dash of milk) whilst Hecate poured her own.

"Is there something the matter, Pippa?" Hecate asked as she put the teaspoon to the side and picked up her cup.

"I suppose you could say that, yes," Pippa said with a sigh and put her cup of tea down.

"What is it?"

"I've just been thinking about Pentangle's, that's all. I can't help but wonder what will happen, what with us being stuck together."

"We'll remove this trap, Pippa," Hecate reassured her, but couldn't bring herself to promise.

"How, Hiccup?" Pippa demanded. "God-knows what we'll have to do to remove this trap after all the spells we cast on it."

Pippa put her head in her free hand and closed her eyes, willing away the tears. Beside her, Hecate was unsure of what to do. Whether to comfort her or give her as much space as she could, what with being physically unable to leave her.

"It's silly," Pippa suddenly chuckled, "I only ever wanted to be closer to you, and now I'm about as close as I can get. I should be happy."

"But?" Prompted Hecate, eyes downcast.

"But I'm not," Pippa admitted. She looked at Hecate and gasped softly. "Not because I'm stuck with you. Perhaps I worded it wrong. I'm just worried about Pentangle's. Aside from all of the arguing, I've quite enjoyed being with you."

"You have?" Hecate asked, unsure of if she'd heard correctly.

"Of course I have, Hiccup. I-" Pippa stopped herself quickly then smiled softly. "Nevermind... I'm just happy to be with you."

"... What were you going to say?" Hecate asked, eyebrows furrowed, heart pounding in her chest. Hoping she wasn't reading too much into it.

"It doesn't matter, it's silly," Pippa shook her head and laughed. Her eyes flickered to the clock on Hecate's desk.

"You don't know that," Hecate denied.

"I do. It's just sill school girl stuff."

"I deal with school girls everyday, there's nothing you can say that will surprise me."

"I think there is," Pippa muttered.

"Pipsqueak," Hecate said causing Pippa to look at her. It wasn't often Hecate used her nickname. "Tell me."

Pippa looked down and distracted herself with straightening out her skirt and breathing slowly. Upon further inspection, Hecate noticed her hands were shaking slightly.

"I was going to say-" Pippa paused and swallowed, "I was going to say I love you."

Her voiced cracked on the word 'love' and she avoided meeting Hecate's eyes, opting instead to stare at the door that lead to the corridor, looking as if she wanted to blast it out of her way and escape.

Hecate's breath hitched and she was sure her heart missed a beat. She knew now that she hadn't read too much into it and she was never more grateful for her instincts. 

"I'm so sorry, Hecate, I know you don't feel the same way and I've tried my hardest to suppress my feelings ever since we were girls so as to not ruin our friendship. As soon as we break this trap, I'll leave Cackle's and you can be sure you won't hear from me again," Pippa hurried, brushing away tears that refused to leave. 

"Don't presume to tell me what I do and do not feel," Hecate ordered, frowning. Pippa finally turned to face her. "Pippa, I-" Hecate stuttered, "I love you, too. I had thought you didn't feel the same way I did, but perhaps I was wrong."

Oddly, Pippa laughed. It sounded ironic and Hecate had to refrain from snapping at her and demanding what was so funny at a time like this. 

"Oh, Hiccup. I've loved you since I was a girl. I thought it was obvious? I could have sworn everyone knew," Pippa finally breathed, having stopped laughing, and brought her hand up to place it on Hecate's cheek.

Hecate becomes struck for what to say after that bombshell. How can Pippa have loved her since they were girls? How had she not noticed? She can't help but think that if she had, they might not have spent thirty long and trying years apart. 

She must have remained quieter for longer than she realised because when Pippa speaks, she has to force herself to come out of her own thoughts and listen.

"Would it be alright if I kissed you now?" Pippa asked hesitantly and Hecate could barely do more than nod. 

A smile graced Pippa's features and she slowly leaned forward, closing the distance. She paused when their lips were just brushing, giving Hecate the chance to change her mind or pull away. When she did neither, Pippa closed the gap and pressed her lips to Hecate's. 

A glow emanated from their joined arms that were resting beside them and slowly, they pulled away from each other to when their arms felt warm. They looked down and noticed that their arms were finally free. Pippa laughed with relief and pulled her arm towards her, rubbing it with her hand. 

"Would you mind if we kissed again?" Pippa asked, using her now free hand to tuck some stray hair behind Hecate's ear. 

"What about Pentangle's?" Hecate asked, having finally found her voice.

"It can wait one more day," Pippa decided and leant forward to capture Hecate's lips with her own.


End file.
